


The Heart Remembers

by BuchananScorpioFan



Category: General Hospital
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-05-26 19:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15007979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuchananScorpioFan/pseuds/BuchananScorpioFan
Summary: Robin is three months old when Anna finds out that the love of her life is getting remarried. She must decide if she will risk her heart to ask him for a second chance or whether she will leave him to his assumed happiness without her. She also has to decide whether to tell him about their daughter. AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**A/N: This story will be extremely AU. This takes place takes place in the middle of 1979 but in this story Luke and Laura already had Lucky and now they are both presumed dead. Robert and Tiffany are Lucky's Godparents. Most of Robert and Anna's history will be the same, even if the timing is different**.

_**May 1979** _

** Anna **

She traces his face with the back of her thumb as a single tear rolls down her cheek. The words written below are like a dagger to the heart. " **Port Charles Police Commissioner Robert Scorpio to Wed Tiffany Hill."**

_His hand gripped hers as they walked through the freshly wet grass near the fountain of the church until they had reached the crowd of people gathered to wed. An older woman had taken the veil from her head and given it to Robert. He took a moment to look into her eyes and she had looked back—the unbridled passion simmering just below the surface. He placed the elegant veil upon her head and reached for her hand once more. She listens to the Italian prayers as she looks at the man she loves. Everything around her makes her feel hope for her future._

" _I, Robert take thee Anna to be my lawfully wedded wife, to love honor and respect until death us do part."_

_"I, Anna take thee Robert to be my lawfully wedded husband, I vow to love honor and respect thee until death us do part."_

_Their eyes find each other's as a smile spreads across each of their faces, their hands still joined together. They repeat an Italian prayer with the rest of the couples getting married and then it is time for their first kiss as husband and wife._

_The way he looked at her then was something she had never experienced in her life before…that kind of intensity and passion and all-consuming love. She never once considered that there would come a day when they would not be together._

Church bells from outside her apartment jolt her back to reality and the newspaper staring back at her from the desk. She wonders if Robert's new fiancé knows about her and what they shared so many moons ago.

"Do you love her the same way you loved me Robert? Does she make you feel the same way that I did? Do you even miss me at all?"

One tear turned into two and then into three and suddenly the floodgates had opened and she was crying harder than she ever has since the day he left. Time may have changed _his_ feelings for _her_ but it had _never_ changed _her_ feelings for _him_.

**Robert**

Robert walks into the spare bedroom where his best friend Luke's little boy is now waking up in tears. He sits the child on his lap and gives him a glass of water. How did you explain to a child that the only parent you had left is now gone. He wants to honor Luke's memory but he has no idea what he was thinking when he left custody of Lucky to him, his Godfather. He knows nothing about raising a child. His job could leave the little boy a target.

"Did you have a bad dream," Robert asks the three year old. Lucky feels safe with Robert, though he has no idea why. "How about you sleep with me tonight," he offers. Somehow, he knows instinctively that he needs the child as much as he needs him. Tiffany comes out from the bathroom and smiles at Robert, holding the child.

"Maybe this is why Luke thought you should raise him, "she whispers. "Because he knew that underneath all that charm, is actually a really great man…a man who would make a wonderful father someday."

Tiffany watches him as he climbs into bed with the boy. He is rubbing his back as he sings a very bad lullaby to him. She knew that Robert did not love her but she cannot help but wonder why he looks so tormented now.

"Maybe you shouldn't sing to him," Tiffany jokes, as she climbs onto the other side of the bed. "You might scare him even more."

Robert's eyes cloud with unshared despair and she knows he is not just thinking about his best friend's death. Something is truly haunting him.

"Hey, I was joking, "she says, as she drapes an arm around his shoulder. He barely even looks at her as he shuts off the lights.

"Robert, What is it," Tiffany asks? "I _know_ that look and it is _not_ just Luke that you are thinking about. Someone must have hurt you very badly in the past. Please talk to me. It is not healthy for you to hold everything inside. "

 _Memories of a dark haired girl with amber eyes flash through his mind. He can still picture her grabbing his hand as they run for their lives… kissing her on a beach in Italy just before he marries her. He can still remember caressing her hair in a hotel room as she sleeps on his chest and making love to her until he was positive that he could no longer breathe._ He forces the tears away just as quickly as they come. He has thought of nothing else since he left, even when he hates himself for it…hates himself for still carrying feelings for the very woman who broke him.

"I'm Fine," Robert insists, maybe a little too quickly. He turns around and faces the wall, and Tiffany knows the figurative wall has once again come up. She can try her best to sleep off the loneliness but she knows she cannot change Robert's past. A woman always knows when a man has been in love before.

**Anna**

Anna picks up a crying baby and holds her to her chest. It has just been three months since her birth.

"It's going to be okay Robin. You and I will be okay."

She sits down in the rocking chair, covering them both with a blanket. Anna sings to her as Robin begins to relax in her arms.

"You don't know him but you miss him too don't you? How can a little girl not miss her daddy?"

She would carry the child back to the bed and watch the steady rise and fall of her chest. Anna has not been sleeping in months but maybe with Robin here, they could at least pretend to be okay.

"Goodnight my love. Mommy loves you." _And you too Robert, wherever you are. I still love you too_


	2. Chapter Two

 

Chapter Two

****  
Anna fingers the red fabric in her hands as she watches Robin sleep. It was a gift from Robert from their happier times. She knows in some small way it is probably selfish to keep Robin from him…especially knowing how great a father he would be. _She cannot tell him though. She cannot risk the chance that he will take their daughter from her arms. She cannot risk never knowing if his feelings are from obligation when all she wants is his love and his forgiveness. Maybe she is even selfish for wanting to raise Robin when she could be in danger every day._  
  
She takes the baby monitor with her as she goes into the bathroom. Maybe a hot bath would do her good. She needed a clear head before she made any decisions. _She loves Robert. Oh how she loves him… But is it right for her to disrupt his happiness just because she cannot let him go. Who is to say that his bitter heart will have thawed at all?_  
  
++++  
  
Bobbie looks down at her nephew as she helps prepare Tiffany for her big day. “You are hardly the blushing bride I expected to see,” she muses.  
  
“You _know_ we are not marrying for love Bobbie,” Tiffany says.  
  
“Maybe not but you _both_ love this little guy don’t you?”  
  
Tiffany smiles as she looks down at her Godson. “Luke wanted Robert to raise him. I’m only here to help him with the job.”  
  
“You _could_ have fooled me.”  
  
“I can’t allow myself to fall in love with him Bobbie. I can’t.”  
  
“You could certainly do worse than Robert Scorpio Tiff.”  
  
“It’s not that…It’s…I don’t want to live in the shadows of a woman he obviously still has it bad for?”  
  
“You think Robert is in love with someone…who?”  
  
“I don’t know…I just know that something is haunting him…something he can’t let go of…He has nightmares Bobbie. He does not know I can hear him when he is tossing and turning in his sleep…calling her name. “  
  
“Wait…he has a name for this mystery woman?”  
  
Tiffany shakes her head. “Anna. He calls her his Anna. I have a feeling she is the reason he will not allow himself to open his heart again. Oh, he will give his body away. That requires no effort at all. For all I know, he is imagining her when we have sex. I know that he loves this woman…I do not know who she is other than she is obviously the woman who both got under his skin and broke his heart. You cannot compete with love like that…eventually it will burn you alive.”  
  
“So what are you going to do?”  
  
“I am not sure yet. I am not saying I will not marry him. People marry for all kinds of reasons. I just wish he would be honest with me. “  
  
“I’m sorry Tiff. Is there anything I can do?”  
  
“You’re doing it. For now, all I can do is wait him out. In the end, the choice is his. I will not hold him to his promise if he wants to be somewhere else.”  
  
“You are a remarkable woman Tiffany Hill.”  
  
“I don’t know about that. I am envious really. Someday I want to find that kind of love. How many of us can say we have the kind of love that people would die for?”  
  
“Not many, that’s for sure.”  
  
Tiffany smiles at Bobbie before she retreats to the bathroom to put on her dress. Bobbie picks up her nephew and smiles. “I’m with Tiffany. I want to find that kind of love someday. What is Robert waiting for? Doesn’t he know how lucky he is to have found it when most people never do?”  
  
++++  
  
“I _can’t_ let you do this Robert,” Sean says, as he watches his friend adjust his tie.  
  
“It’s not _up_ to you Sean,” he says. “This is _my_ wedding day. _Why can’t you be happy for me?”_  
  
“Two Reasons. They _both_ add up to the same thing. _Anna Devane_.”  
  
“Leave _her out_ of this Sean. What happened between us was a really long time ago.”  
  
“It was not _that_ long ago. You forget who you are speaking to Robert. _I_ was there when you two met for the first time. I _saw_ the way you reacted to each other. The way you _looked_ at each other. If there is such a thing as love at first sight, you two were it.”  
  
“It’s over Sean. Let it go.”  
  
“ _Do not lie to me Robert._ I see it in your eyes. When you look at Tiffany, you _wish_ it were Anna. Doesn’t she deserve better that that?”  
  
“You mean _you?”_  
  
_“Did I say that?”_  
  
“You did not have to. I _know_ you have feelings for her.”  
  
“That is _not_ the point. This is about _you_. You do not eat anymore. You barely sleep. I know you still look for information about her because I have seen it with my own eyes. When are you going to admit that you are _still_ carrying a giant sized torch for her?”  
  
“You are imagining things Sean. “  
  
“Oh Really? Then tell me Robert. _How_ did your divorce papers get filed without _your_ signature?”  
  
_“What the hell are you talking about?”_  
  
Sean took the papers out of his pocket and handed them to him. “You cannot marry Tiffany Robert. You will be committing _bigamy_ if you do. “  
_  
“Are you saying I’m still married to Anna?”_  
  
“Are you _Blind_ Robert? It is all right there. You _cannot_ be divorced if you never signed the papers. “  
  
“How did this happen?”  
  
Robert looks as if he’s about to pass out and Sean claps a hand on his shoulder. “You know _exactly_ how it happened. You were in such a rush to convince yourself that you were _through_ with her that you missed your _own_ signature. Or was that the plan all along?”  
  
“This is _not_ funny Sean. This is the _last_ thing I need right now.”  
  
“Well like it or not, it’s _happening._ If you really want this divorce, you are going to have to talk to Anna. It has been over a year. New papers will have to be drawn up.”  
  
He sinks down into a chair and sighs. A mixture of pain and anger disguising the obvious love that is still buried deep in his heart. The love you never get over.  
  
_“I don’t believe this._ I am _never_ going to live this one down am I?”  
  
“The Truth?”  
  
“What else?”  
  
“I don’t think this was an accident Robert. You do _not_ get over that kind of love as quickly as you pretended to. You masked the hurt with your anger. Now you have _no choice_ but to deal with the hurt. There are _worse_ things you could be facing than a marriage to Anna Devane. Why can’t you admit that you are still in love with her?”  
  
“It was against the rules Sean. We _both_ know that.”  
  
“Except that you no longer have that excuse Robert. It was a different time when those rules were in place. The truth is that you cannot keep two people apart if they are meant to be.”  
  
_“And you suddenly think we are soulmates now?”_  
  
“I think you are _both_ stubborn fools afraid to admit that you hurt each other but are still crazy in love. It does not matter what _I_ think. I just know that you are _miserable_ without her. Get on that plane Robert. _Deal_ with your past. You _won’t_ have a future until you do.”  
  
“I’m afraid I won’t have a future if I go back into the past,” He admits.  
  
“Well _if_ that happens Robert…it means your future and your past are the same thing. Facing your wife is not going to kill you…denying your feelings for her to the point where it is unhealthy just might? All you have to do is talk to her. Whatever happens next is up to the two of you. _Aren’t you tired of hating her?_ ”  
  
“You think I _hate_ her?”  
  
“You don’t?”  
  
“She hurt me Sean. I am bitter and angry and probably every negative word in the English language…but _hate_ …hate is something I _never_ could do… _believe me_ , I _tried._ ”  
  
“Then maybe you should ask yourself why…If you don’t hate her then maybe you still love her. There is a very thin line between those two emotions. Do not be so hard on yourself Robert. It is _okay_ to forgive her. Maybe it is exactly what you both need to heal.”  
  
_That is what he is afraid of…If he forgives the woman who broke his heart, then what is left to hold him together. He would not be able to survive another fall. Loving Anna was both his salvation and his downfall_.


	3. Chapter Three

  
****

Chapter Three

****  
  
Tiffany’s words keep ringing in his head as he brushes the hair back from his Godson’s face. Lucky was asleep in the seat next to him on the plane.  
  
 _“A man does not forget to sign divorce papers Robert. I do not care how angry you were. Sean is right. It was not an accident. You are still in love with her.”  
  
“Why does everyone keep saying that? I am not in love with her. How could I be in love with her after everything she did?”   
  
  
“Do you even hear yourself? You are trying to convince yourself that you could not possibly love this woman…Robert you married her…you loved her madly from the way you speak of her…It is not that much of a stretch for you to still love her, even when you don’t want to. The heart is funny that way.”  
  
“Tiffany…”   
  
“Robert, Please. We both know your heart has not been here since we started this. Now I know why. As much as I love this little boy, I am not going to marry a man who is clearly still in love with the woman he married. Go to her Robert. Let her help you with Lucky. It is what Luke and Laura would have wanted. They would want their son raised in a family that loves each other.” _  
  
Robert’s eyes snap open at the sound of a child’s scream. For a moment, he forgets where he is. Lucky is looking at him with pleading eyes. _He is his responsibility now. He has to do right by him._  
  
He picks the boy up and sits him on his lap. His arms immediately go around his neck and he settles against Robert’s chest. The crying has ceased. _He just wants someone to make him feel safe. For the life of him, he cannot figure out why that is him. When was the last time he made anyone feel safe?_  
  
“You’re good with him,” a woman across the aisle mentioned. “You shouldn’t second guess yourself. You’ll figure it out.”   
  
“How could you tell,” he asked her.   
  
“Your body language _screams_ new father. Relax. Children only need for you to love them.”   
  
He pauses as he looks at Lucky and then back at the woman. “You know, you never think when you agree to be a child’s God Father that you will ever have to take that to heart. He has lost both his parents. I am the only person he has to count on and honestly, that scares the hell out of me. I don’t know the first thing about being a father.”   
  
“You’re doing it. Just look at him. He loves you. That’s half the battle.”   
  
Robert looks down at Lucky, whose tiny fingers have curled around his larger ones. Lucky buries his head in the crook of Robert’s neck as he sleeps. He smiles as he rubs his Godson’s back. _He would give anything to go back to when life was that simple.  
_  
++++  
Robert stood at Anna’s door for quite some time before he could even muster the courage to knock. _What was he supposed to say to her? It’s not as if he could just walk in there and ask for a divorce…As far as she knows they already are divorced.  
  
“Robert.” _  
  
She is standing in front of him in nothing but a robe. _Do not look Scorpio. Whatever you do, do not look in her eyes. You know you will just fall in love again._  
  
 _It was too late._ He hasn’t seen her in just over a year and she is still as beautiful as she was on the day that he left her in that hospital in Paris. He never thought he would see her again and seeing her now…It hurt.   
  
_“Anna,”_ he gasps. “I think we need to talk.”   
  
She steps aside and lets him enter, even if she longs to let their eyes linger just a little longer. M _aybe if Robert looked in her eyes longer than he would remember why he loved her once.  
_  
He takes a seat on her couch, as Anna lets him know it is okay for him to lay the sleeping child down.   
  
“Who’s the little boy,” Anna asks?   
  
Robert wishes he could tell her that Lucky was his…if only to see her hurt as much as she hurt him. In all the months that he spent without her, he was convinced that he wanted to know she was suffering…if only to acknowledge that she felt even a fraction of what he felt. _Now that he was sitting in front of her, he knew that hurting her would not make his pain any less._  
  
“He’s Luke and Laura’s son. Luke was one of my best friends. His name is Lucky and he is my Godson. Both his parents are dead now…for some reason Luke thought it would be best if I raise him.”   
  
Anna smiles at him. Just watching him with this child makes her think of Robin. If he stays here much longer than he is going to find out about their daughter. Somehow, though, she does not mind. _She has dreamed of this moment when she could finally see him again. She would not push him out.  
_  
“Maybe he knows that you would make a wonderful father,” she says.   
  
Robert does not say anything then. He knows she has to wonder why he is here.   
  
“You seem nervous Robert. Is there something wrong?”   
  
“I need to tell you something and I’m not quite sure how to do that.”   
  
“You know you can tell me anything Robert. You might not want to but you can. “   
  
_I still love you Robert_  
  
He takes a deep breath as he looks at her. He wipes the sweat from the back of his neck. _Why was he so nervous?_  
 _  
Why can’t I stop loving you?_  
  
“Anna I…”   
  
She boldly moves her hand to cover his own. She expected him to resist but for some reason he just left it there. _She would not complain. She always loved to feel his warmth on her skin._  
  
“As much as I hate to admit that I made a mistake, “he continues. “I think it’s the only way you will believe what I have to tell you?”   
  
“I thought you didn’t _make_ mistakes,” she quipped. She meant it as a joke but he looked far more serious than she expected and she worried that he thought she sounded bitter.   
  
“Sometimes I do,” he said, before she could admit that she was kidding. He handed her the papers and she seemed confused at first…until she got to the end of them.   
  
“You didn’t sign them? So that means…”   
  
“We are still married. That is correct.”   
  
“ _So what was the mistake Robert…That you didn’t sign them or that you drew them up in the first place?”  
_  
“ _Anna…_ ”  
  
“Hasn’t this time apart taught you _anything?_ You left me in that hospital and you never let me explain. Maybe if you had, you would believe me when I say that _I love you._ What do I have to do to show you how sorry I am? Can’t you find it in your heart to show me just a little bit of forgiveness...Or did everything that we shared not mean anything at all to you? _I love you Robert. I just want a chance to earn your forgiveness…and your love. Can’t you ever love me again?”  
_  
She presses a finger to his lips when she knows he is about to object… “Don’t say anything Robert. Just give me this moment. I promise I won’t mention it again.”   
  
She tilts his chin so she can look at him…those dark expressive eyes telling her everything she needs to know…and then she kisses him. _He feels just like he did when they were together_. It amazes her how even with one kiss; it still sends shivers throughout her body.   
  
_“Anna,”_ he pants, his forehead now resting against hers.   
  
_“Don’t tell me you don’t feel anything because we both know that’s a lie.”_


End file.
